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Crime, Law and Justice
The Associated Press
Waukesha, Wis.

Prosecutors add 6th homicide count in Wisconsin parade crash

Police stand near toppled chairs.
Police stand near toppled chairs lining West Main Street in downtown Waukesha, Wis., after an SUV driver drove into a parade of Christmas marchers Nov. 21.
John Hart | Wisconsin State Journal via AP

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Prosecutors added a sixth intentional homicide count Monday against a Wisconsin man accused of driving his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee.

Investigators allege Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, turned into the parade route in Waukesha on Nov. 21 and swerved the vehicle side-to-side without slowing down as he struck dozens of people. Authorities announced later that night that five people had died.

Police arrested Brooks shortly afterward as he knocked on a homeowner's door asking for help calling a ride.

Waukesha County District Attorney Susan Opper filed five counts of first-degree intentional homicide against Brooks on Nov. 23, for victims ranging in age from 52 to 81.

The sixth charge is for Jackson Sparks, an 8-year-old boy who had been walking in the parade with his 12-year-old brother Tucker, who also was hurt in the crash.

Willy Medina, a spokesman for the state public defender's office, which is representing Brooks, declined to comment on the added count.

Brooks' alleged motive remains unknown. Investigators have said he was fleeing the scene of a domestic dispute when he turned into the parade but police were not pursuing him. He was free on $1,000 bail in a Milwaukee County case earlier in November in which he is accused of intentionally striking a woman with his car.